


leggie kicks

by kishere



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-02-08 00:11:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21466840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kishere/pseuds/kishere
Summary: Phil is a young single father to a tempermental toddler.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 30





	leggie kicks

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kamunamis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kamunamis/gifts).

> I wrote this for [mikey](https://sudden-sky.tumblr.com/) as a thank you for alleviating some fears and looking over a fic I co-wrote along with the encouragement and support they have given over the past few months. Honestly an a+ human uwu
> 
> Shout out to [cal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/enbycalhoun%E2%80%9D%20rel=) for betaing this
> 
> I don't have any plans to continue this but never say never either
> 
> you can find kishere on tumblr [here](https://filisaceaf.tumblr.com/)

Phil loves his daughter. She is the light of his life and he’s amazed everyday at the progress she’s making as a tiny person. He took a thousand photos when her hair started coming in a copper color that looked like his natural, non-dyed hair. He cried when she took her first steps. Just last week she started learning “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” and he sat through 50 different renditions with the words wrong, just marveling at her fingers trying to make the spider climb “up the otter pout”. Watching her grow made the whole ill-fitted, ill-fated, forced relationship with her mother worth being a single father at twenty-five.

That is to say, he thought with his head in hands as he listened to Katie scream, sometimes it was difficult being a single father to a toddler. It was mornings like this (when Katie was running around in her underwear, screaming because she didn’t want to go to preschool, thirty minutes late for drop off), that Phil wanted to join her in screaming. But he was the adult and he needed to get his crap together and get Katie ready for preschool because it was important and he couldn’t not send her. Sure he worked from home, but his mom had recommended (well, more passed down parenting advice in a way so serious Phil took it to heart) that Katie needed to socialize with other children. Phil sighed deeply and stood up, scrubbing his hands over his face once more before going to try and coax Katie into at least putting on clothes so they could “go to the park”.

Should Phil feel bad about lying to his daughter? Probably.

Was he going to feel bad this morning? No, not yet.

Phil helped Katie put on her chosen outfit of blue leopard tights and a bright pink shirt with sequin butterflies on it that Louise had gifted him. He grabbed her backpack, ignoring her confused little glare and gave her a chocolate granola bar, figuring he might be able to distract her long enough to walk to the flat where she went to three times a week to get in her socializing. Maybe there would be singing again today; Katie loved singing.

Katie caught on about a block and a half into their walk and shot Phil a betrayed look before starting to sniffle. She stopped moving and Phil ignored the dirty looks shot by other early commuters walking on the sidewalk.

“Katie cat,” Phil said (he did not plead), bending down to be eye level with Katie. “It’s going to be so much fun today!”

“No is not,” Katie argued before dropping her half-finished granola bar on the ground and starting to tear up even faster. Phil picked up the granola bar and shoving it into his pocket to toss in the rubbish bin later and then picking up Katie. He let her wail into his shoulder, feeling like the world’s worst parent as he walked down the street and got sympathetic (read: pitying) looks from onlookers. He walked the rest of the way carrying Katie and whispering reassurances into her ear that everything was okay, even as her small body heaved because “my choc-late daddy”.

His younger self would be so impressed at how strong he was now, he thought idly before arriving at the front of the block of flats where Katie’s daycare was. He walked in, ignoring Katie’s small whine and leggie kicks (look, he had to give them a cute name or they would be more annoying) as he pressed the button for the elevator for Karen’s floor. He tried his best to get Katie a little more calm in the elevator, which (shockingly) happened during the ride up to the fifteenth floor. Katie was rubbing her eyes sleepily, which meant she was finding offense at everything, not just Phil. He walked out into the hallway and knocked on the door of Karen Howell’s apartment.

Karen Howell had a philosophy degree and not a teaching degree, but to fund her continued quest for education she would watch children during the summer and on select days during the week when she wasn’t attending classes. It was a structured environment and when Phil had mentioned this to his mom, she had sounded approving enough of the situation that Phil felt confident in his choice. The fact that she was also very discreet and didn’t probe unless Phil invited her too was another plus.

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that when the door opened, he started apologizing without looking at the opening door.

“I’m so sorry Karen. It’s been a morning,” Phil said as he finally turned to face the open door instead of the door jam. He blinked in surprise at the fact it wasn’t Karen that opened the door, but instead a young looking man. He had black piercings in his ear and was wearing a Muse shirt paired with gray jogger bottoms. He looked passively at Phil before turning his head and yelling “Mum” back into the house. Phil was suddenly reminded of the pictures in the Howell living room of another boy besides Adrian, who looked sullen in most pictures. He couldn’t for the life of him remember his name since Karen didn’t speak about him except in passing, but this was the mysterious elder son that Phil would idly wonder about at three am when his thoughts were too big.

“Erm,” Phil said, shifting a quietly sniffling Katie into one arm in order to hold to hold out his hand. “Hello! My name’s Phil.”

“I know,” the other man said, slouching and leaning against the door jam, giving Phil a once over. “You run that BBC Radio Show...Internet Takeover, right?”

“Yep, that’s me,” Phil said with a nervous laugh, his hand still stuck out in front of him. He slowly retracted it. “And I’m sorry. I didn’t catch your name-.”

“Daniel,” the other boy said curtly before Phil saw Karen appear over Daniel’s shoulder.

“Dan, don’t be rude,” she chastised him, giving a soft bat at his shoulder and muscling through to the doorway. “Phil, this is my son Daniel. He’s staying with me while he revises to resit an exam for Manchester University. Is that going to be okay? I promise he’s only this grumpy before noon; bit of a nightowl.”

Phil could hear the pride in Karen’s voice when she said Manchester University, but Phil just saw Dan shrink in on himself, but he hadn’t moved away from the doorway like Phil thought he might. “Of course, that’s fine Karen. Warning, Katie’s had a rough morning; she had a nightmare last night, and we both didn’t sleep too well. If you need to put her down for a longer nap than usual, that’s fine.”

“Thank you for letting me know Phil. Are you still picking her up at three?”

Phil thought on what he had to do for work today and nodded his head confidently. He looked back at Karen when he noticed Dan was staring at him, feeling the back of his neck heating up. “Yes, three pm on the dot.”

“Wonderful. Come here Katie Cat,” Karen cooed, holding out her arms.

This was Phil’s least favorite part of the day. He pressed approximately twenty thousand (okay, maybe three) kisses to Katie’s forehead before handing her and her backpack off to Karen. He felt his chest give a pang and he watched as Karen turned, walking into the flat telling Katie all the fun things that would be happening that day.

“It uh. Was nice to meet you Daniel,” Phil said, taking another look at the man who had stayed quiet in the doorway.

Dan mumbled back something that sounded a lot like “you too” before softly shutting the door. The door opened again after a millisecond and Daniel looked at Phil. “Sorry. I...you...sorry.”

Well, Phil thought confused, as he stared at the door that had shut again in his face after Daniel’s apology. Only six hours until he could pick Katie up and he was sure a lot of it would be consumed thinking about Karen’s mysterious older child.


End file.
